August 31, 2009
Volume 5, Number 15

Good Morning!

I apologize for the time getting away since the last newsletter, but it has seemed pretty hectic around here. I hope that all of you enjoyed the weekend and had the opportunity to ride some.

On Saturday, my boys and I were fortunate to take in some of the Ultimate Horseman’s Challenge Association at the Flying W Ranch near Cottonwood Falls. Congratulations to Lowell Anderson for winning the Open Division. It seems as though, after the competition, my boys took over Lowell and his wife Teresa’s horses; and they really enjoyed riding around the ranch. We all had a great time.

While down at the Flying W, I was working on getting a room count for our upcoming Dream Ride In The Flint Hills this Sept. 25, 26, & 27^th. With this being our 10^th Anniversary, it will prove out to be a special weekend. We only have around 25 spots left, so make sure you call Suzan Barnes at the Grand Central Hotel and make your reservations for the ride. You can call her at 620/273-6763 and more information is inside this newsletter.

Within a few days, many of you will receive our Better Horses Fall Edition which is loaded with information, including a tremendous spread on this year’s American Royal. Having to complete this edition with basically no computer to do a lot of proof checking, I did find a couple of mistakes. First, if you are interested in joining us for the Trip to Amarillo for the World Championship Ranch Rodeo Finals in November, give me a call at 785/418-6047 or e-mail me at ernest_rodina@purina-mills.com . We forgot to put the contact information in the ad. Then I noticed on page 40, the Fall Classic Horse Sale ad failed to mention where it will be held. The event advertised will be held at Farmers & Ranchers Sale Barn in Salina, KS.

If you get this newsletter in time, make sure you watch RFD TV tonight as Purina Nutritionist, Karen Davison, joins Dan Wall with the National Reining Horse Association and Shawn Flarida, multi-million dollar rider for a great program including a call-in opportunity. This week is the NRHA Tulsa Ariat Slide in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I am going to try to slip down there to catch a little of it.

Make sure you check out a couple of neat websites offered by Purina Mills. Go to www.omoleneuniversity.com and www.purinadifference.com. These websites give you an excellent opportunity to learn more about Purina Feeds and take advantage of a great trial offer. Purina’s Research is second to none, and it is really exciting to see the new products they continue to come out with.

Make sure you plan to attend this year’s American Royal in Kansas City. The week of Oct.22^nd through Oct.25^th will be a great week for the American Royal. Our Unbelievable Horse Happening is gaining all kinds of excitement along with the Colt Challenge that will be held at the Equine and Ranch Expo during the same time. And let's not forget there will be two nights of great PRCA Rodeo with the Prairie Circuit Finals going on at the same time.

Better Horses Radio will soon be in Texas!!! The Better Horses Radio Show will begin airing on Sunday, Sept.27^th at 7:00 am, on the great station, Country Legends 92.1 FM. We are so excited to now be in the Fort Worth, Stephenville, and Weatherford listening areas.

Finally, if you are around Ottawa, Kansas on Monday evening, Sept.14^th, join us for the first service of a new Cowboy Church being started in the area. Ropin’ Hope Fellowship will meet at 6:30 pm at the Union Chapel located south of Ottawa at Rock Creek and Nebraska Road. Pastor Steve Stafford, Risen Ranch Cowboy Church and Frank Slaughter from Open Range Ministry will head up the service. For information call Liza Perry at 785/937-4434 or myself at 785/418-6047, ernest_rodina@purina-mills.com.

Thanks for all you do and let me know if I can be of a help.

Happy Trails!

Ernie

Looking for Work

Person who is great with horses, cattle, etc. is looking for a position.  Bachelor's degree in Animal Science and Production Management at Kansas State University.  If you know of any
job opening, please give him a call.  Click Here for brief resume and contact information.

Embroidery/Screen Printing/Imprinting Services

Rodina Designs is a local Kansas City based embroidery, screen printing, imprinting shop that is new in your area.  They offer tons of different apparel, business cards, car decals and imprintable items.  For any of your needs for your company, school, events, sports, clubs, etc. -- contact Vickie Rodina (913) 208-3717.  Click Here for more details on their services.

Calendar of Events:

    August

•  Aug. 31   TONIGHT!!  MONDAY NIGHT LIVE BROADCAST, Purina welcomes the National Reining Horse Association starting at 7:00 pm Central.  Tune in to RFD-TV Horse Monday Night Live -- learn more about this exciting equine sport and the history of NRHA.  Meet Shawn Flarida, the "3 Million Dollar" world-class reining champion who "rides with the brand."  Purina's equine nutritionist will discuss optimum nutrition for the performance horse and maintaining these equine athletes in peak condition. 
  
  Purina Mills and the NRHA will be taking your calls on this show.  For more details, Click Here.
   

Priefert Rodeo & Ranch Equipment presents The Solution For Arena Conditioning  .  .  . Priefert's ArenaMasterTM.   For more information, call (800) 527-8616 or visit www.priefert.com.                                             Click here to learn more!

The Better Horses Radio Show Tune in to one of the stations airing our show:                        Saturday    9:00am - 10:00am         KMDO 1600 am - Fort Scott, KS         Saturday    4:00pm - 5:00pm          KFRM   550 am - Clay Center/Salina/Wichita, KS         Sunday      5:05am - 6:00pm           KMA    960 am / 99.3 fm - Shenandoah, IA         Sunday      5:00am - 6:00am           KOMG  92.9 fm - Bass Country, Ozark, MO         Sunday      6:00am - 7:00am           KTPK   106.9 am - Country Legends, Topeka, KS         Sunday      6:30am - 7:30am           KFEQ   680 am - St. Joe, MO                         STARTING SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27:         Sunday      7:00am - 8:00 am          KTFW  92.1 fm - Country Legends         Sunday      9:00am - 10:00am         KDKD  95.3 fm - Clinton, MO         Sunday      4:00pm - 5:00pm           KOFO  1220 am - Ottawa, KS         Sunday      4:00pm - 5:00pm           KTJJ     98.5 fm - Farmington, MO Better Horses Radio is a nationally syndicated radio show hosted by Ernie Rodina and co-hosted by Dawn Dawson. Interviews with.......           Local Trainers, Veterinarians, and Industry Leaders. Get updates on upcoming events, shows and clinics as well as regular reports from local equine organizations such as Kansas Horse Council, Breed Associations, Junior Rodeo, PRCA & more.

(Click icon above to go to Better Horses Radio website)

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Horse Management Tip

Caring For Your Horse                    “A Horseman learns to look for signs that a horse is not physically          well or, perhaps, is even suffering mentally. Check on a horse at least          three times a day, looking for any signs that might indicate his discom-          fort or unhappiness. Circling in his stall, pawing the ground, listlessness,          or any behavior that seems out of character for this horse indicates that          something is wrong. It is your job to find the cause. In circumstances          such as these, I have discovered everything from colic to a rattlesnake          in the stall.”                                              - Al Dunning                                   www.aldunningsadtack.com                     (From his book: The Ultimate Level Of Horsemanship --                                    Training Through Inspiration)           I take this tip to an everyday approach when feeding our horses around          the place. This is a great time to take notice of your horses condition.          I stress to everyone to look over the horses from front to back, to look          for anything out of the ordinary or if their behavior is anything out of the          normal.                                                             Ernie

Horsey Treat Recipe

It's back-to-school days alreadyl!  Now is a good time to work with your horse      on some training issues -- and you are going to need a special treat as a reward.                     Try these great horse cookies for your favorite equine friend!

Back-To-School Horse Cookies

1 cup margarine            1 cup diced carrots
1 cup flour                    1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup brown sugar        2 cups rolled oats
1 cup bran                    2 eggs
1 cup diced apples

Cream margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs.  Combine flour, bran and baking soda.  Blend into creamed mixture.  Stir in oats, carrots and apples. 
Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet.  Bake at 325^o for 10-12 mins.  Remove and cool.  Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

 
Thoughts To Ponder
                             By Charley Green 
 

Ideas & Inspiration                          Like a lot of big ideas, they just don't seem to work out.                          There must be a bit of college professor in me somewhere.                                                                                             - Will Rogers            I was in a pondering mood a while back and thinking how different thoughts        and ideas come to mind.  For instance, have you considered how many times        you've had a divine inspiration or thought of something that was a great idea for        someone else, or so you figured, told them about it . . . and nothing happened?         It seems a lot of folks are hard put to do something that wasn't their brainchild.               In many cases, the idea was really ours to do as we're the ones who not only        thought of it but also believe in it.  For some folks, it's easier to pass off an idea        thinking someone else should do it rather than do it themselves.  And yet they        wonder why they never get ahead.        On some occasions, folks have referred to me as a "Dream Chaser" because        sometimes I talk about a great idea and nothing happens.         -- In this case, I think it was probably just a bad dream to begin with.

                                                                         
      To read a little more about Charley, Click Here.       To go to Charley's website, www.willrogersandcharley.com          

Timely Reminder

Useful Websites For Horse Owners:

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